Talks in the Basement (Kisses in the Loft)
by skimmy77
Summary: "They had only recently decided to take baby steps toward each other again. Not quite dating, but not quite single, either. The extent of their physical intimacy had only gone as far as trading relatively tame kisses and fully clothed physical contact, and on special occasions like tonight, cuddling to keep the nightmares at bay." Rated T just in case. Fluffy fic.


**A/N: This is a collaboration with mylunarsolstice on Tumblr. This was inspired by fanart that you can find at tiny . cc / 1p94nx**

It had been a long and hard night for Oliver. Not only did he stop three potential kidnappings, four drug trades, and two muggers, but he also had a fight against China White. All he wanted to do was go back to the foundry and go to bed. What he didn't know was that Felicity was still going to be there waiting for him.

"I thought you left already? You knew I was okay and that nothing else was going on last we spoke," he said as he put his bow back in its case.

Felicity just sat there in her chair and watched him. "I was, but I wanted to talk to you first. How are you doing? With what tomorrow is?" she asked nervously.

Oliver thought for a moment before he noticed the date on Felicity's computer. Tomorrow was the anniversary of his mother's death. Oliver sunk down on to the stool that was next to the med table and let out a deep sigh. He wasn't okay. He actually completely forgot about it until she said something. He didn't know what he was going to do or how to feel. He also didn't know if Thea remembered or not, or how she was going to handle everything. His mind started to race with thoughts and he forgot everything around him. It wasn't until Felicity was standing right in front of him, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his face, her voice calling his name, that his thoughts stopped. When he brought his eyes up to meet hers, she gave him _his _smile.

"Hey, welcome back," she said in a gentle tone.

Oliver let out another sigh before wrapping his arms around her waist and letting his head drop to her chest. "I don't know what to do, Felicity. Thea and I still haven't talked since we brought her back from Merlyn, Walter is stuck in London for a business meeting, Diggle and Lyla are with Sara on a family vacation, and Roy is getting his ass handed to him by Nyssa. Not to mention me trying to deal with the QC board, and now I have people meeting with me trying to get me to run for mayor. When did my life get to be like this?" He sighed.

Felicity just listened to him as she worked her fingers through his short hair, scratching a spot here and there. "First don't worry about Lyla and Diggle. You know they can take care of themselves and that child blind folded. Call Walter tomorrow at a decent hour, his time, and see how he's doing. It may have already passed for him, but he was still a good father figure to Thea while you were gone, so he is family. As for Roy, he needs to learn. Admit it, you have a soft spot for the boy, and in this instance I agree with Nyssa that he needs some tough love. As for the board and mayor thing, you can handle that easily. You just need to have faith in yourself." Here Felicity stopped speaking.

Oliver pulled his head back to look at her and noticed that she was biting her lip in thought. "And Thea?" he prodded.

Felicity closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't know what to tell you Oliver. I was an only child so I don't know how to handle siblings. Roy is the closest thing I have to a little brother." Her eyes looked so sad when she told him that.

Oliver looked away before dropping his head again. The two of them stayed like that for some time, Oliver thinking about tomorrow and Felicity trying to soothe Oliver.

"Hey." She whispered bringing his head up to look at her. "You'll figure it out. You always do. When you go home tonight, ask Thea what your mom's favorite flowers were, or where she loved to go to lunch. Gently remind her what the day is, and maybe it can help start the process of healing. Right now you are at the bottom of her list. There's nowhere else to go but up."

Oliver nodded his head in agreement. Felicity brought both her hands up to cup Oliver's face and leaned down to kiss his forehead. Oliver closed his eyes and rubbed his thumb against her hips, relaxing against her even more.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" he asked her when she pulled away. He had a feeling he was going to be having nightmares about his mother's death again and didn't want to be alone when it happened. She smiled at him and nodded before kissing his head again.

"Let me shut down the computers and then I will join you in the loft." She smiled.

He nodded once, and left the basement of the foundry. Felicity went through her nightly routine with her babies, backing them up before putting them to sleep. Soon she was climbing the stairs to join Oliver in the office that they had converted to a proper bedroom for him. She had insisted that he needed a space for himself, a place to shed his Arrow persona and just be Oliver. He couldn't do that sleeping in the basement. She had argued that it was a regression, that it too closely resembled the fuselage on Lian Yu, which was probably why he had felt comfortable there while being the Arrow. But he was no longer on the island, and she was helping him slowly rediscover his humanity, and having a place of his own (even if it was still in the same building) was a step toward doing just that.

When she walked into his room, she found him doing pushups on the floor, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. She smiled to herself. She knew he normally slept shirtless, and probably pantless, but he was dressed for her sake. They had only recently decided to take baby steps toward each other again. Not quite dating, but not quite single, either. The extent of their physical intimacy had only gone as far as trading relatively tame kisses and fully clothed physical contact, and on special occasions like tonight, cuddling to keep the nightmares at bay.

He stopped in the middle of his set and looked up at her. "Hey," he greeted her with a smile.

"Hey," she returned. "I'm just gonna change."

"Okay," he replied, and continued his pushups.

She walked over to the little dresser she had bought for him and opened the bottom drawer, revealing the collection of sleepwear she had stashed in there for herself. She smiled again, liking these little steps they had taken together toward something big between them. They haven't yet had _the talk,_ but that was fine with her. They didn't always need things spelled out between them. They had always been good at reading between the lines with each other, even from the very first day they met. The unspoken conversations they held in those early days brought a nostalgic smile to her face; she had known he was lying, and he had known that she knew, and she knew that he knew that she knew.

She shook her head a little at her circuitous thinking, and reached in the drawer for her panda pajamas. She walked into his bathroom, which had been converted from a simple half-bath into a full one with a shower stall. She had decorated it for him with a blue theme, staying away from green to remind him that he was Oliver here, not the Arrow. It had a masculine feel, which was what she had been going for, and she paused in the middle of the room to take it in. She felt embraced by him in here. She thought she could pick up traces of his scent, that complex combination of earth and water that made her think of mountains and lakes. She imagined him going through his morning routine in here, and her eyes glanced over at the shower stall. She blushed, thinking of him naked in there, and immediately shook her head from her thoughts and quickly changed into her pajamas. _Keep it tame, Smoak._ Lord knows they weren't ready for _that_ yet.

After that was done, she went to the sink to clean her face and brush her teeth. She smiled at the two toothbrushes hanging out in a cup together, yet another sign of their _something_ together. She bet that he saw it the same way she did, and she felt a warm connection to him.

_Enough dawdling, woman!_ He was probably waiting for her anxiously (which was probably why he was doing pushups), and she hurried through the rest of her routine, anxious to get into bed with him. _Not like that!_ she thought with a start. Though, who she was defending herself against was a mystery.

Finally, she stepped out of the bathroom and found him already in the bed, under the covers, and looking at her. He smiled and drew back the covers, beckoning for her with his arm. She blushed, still unused to this scenario. She climbed into the bed and lay down facing him, snuggling up close. She took a second to take off her glasses and reached over him to place them on the little nightstand next to him, and returned into his embrace. His arm reached around her waist to pull her closer, clutching her entire body to his. He threw his leg over hers and tucked one of her legs in between his. She giggled a little at his treatment of her, like she was a giant teddy bear.

"What?" he asked, a little indignantly.

She laughed again. "Nothing. You're cute."

He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. "I'm not cute. _You're_ cute," he protested. "I'm manly."

She shook her head with a grin. "You're all squishy inside, Oliver. You don't have to pretend with me."

He huffed a laugh. "Well, fine, but I'm only squishy with you." He punctuated this with another kiss.

She smiled. "I like that you can be squishy with me."

He smiled at her and kissed her again. He kissed her once more, lingering this time. She decided to push the boundaries and peeked out her tongue, touching his lips. He gasped at the contact, and held her a little tighter to his body. She felt a stirring from him below, and her heart thudded in her chest at the sensation. She felt the tip of his tongue touch hers, and she gasped as well, holding back a moan. She heard him taking shaky breaths as he intensified the kiss, playing with her tongue more boldly. She felt another stirring, and she pulled back from the kiss before they reached a point of no return.

He briefly chased her mouth with his, trying to maintain contact, until he closed his eyes and touched his forehead against hers. "Sorry," he whispered, taking a deep breath.

"Don't be," she murmured, taking a moment to catch her own breath. "That was fun."

He smiled, his eyes still closed, still taking deep breaths. Once he seemed in control of himself, he opened his eyes again. "Thank you," he said simply, looking deeply into her eyes.

She understood everything he meant in those two words. He was thanking her for staying with him tonight, for chasing away his ghosts. He was thanking her for giving him, giving _them,_ another chance. He was thanking her for having the strength to keep their physical intimacy on a good pace, for knowing when to stop, and knowing when to take the next step. He was thanking her for taking the lead in their relationship, because he didn't know how to be in a healthy relationship. Most of all he was thanking her for loving him, and for letting him love her in return.

"You're welcome," she replied. "And thank _you_." She was thanking him for choosing life, for being brave enough to reach for happiness, for letting her love him the way she wanted to, for receiving that love.

He smiled. "You're welcome." He pulled her head against his chest and stroked her hair. She closed her eyes, affection for Oliver filling her heart. With a final contented sigh, she fell asleep to the steady rhythm of his hand caressing her head.


End file.
